It's Ash Wednesday. The day we more or less celebrate mortality. Appropriate, I suppose.
So I finally decided what I'm giving up for Lent. I'm giving up *drum roll*.... Books. Or, at least, reading book for fun. I can't give up my school books, nor can I give up my Bible, nor will Mom let me give up wedding planning books. But all novels, and any history/political books I would read just for kicks are out... 40 days and 40 nights, not counting Sundays... It'll be tough, but I'll make it.
Giving up books makes sense for several reasons. One, I spend too much time reading when I should be doing other things. Two, Lent is about sacrifice, and self denial... so what could I give up that is more a part of my life than books? Three, books are my escape from reality. When my world is too much to handle, I read a book and jump into someone else's world... so Lent would be a good time for me to face reality again. Not that I don't have other escapes to fall back on... books just seem to be the best.
I tried to read some yesterday, to finish Two Towers before Lent started... but I couldn't do it. I got, like, two pages into what I was reading, and, as always happens when I read Tolkien, I could almost hear Daddy reading to me... my perception of what each of the charaters should sound like is based on the voices he used when he read the Trilogy to us... I couldn't handle it.
So 40 days and 40 nights might be enough time to me to root myself firmly back into reality, and to deal with the emotional ties I have to certain books. Hopefully I'll aquire some good novels over Spring Break that I can read after Easter....
posted by Deedee 1:04 PM
This is my brain..... in part, at least.
